[hyphen] Americans features stunning tintype portraits created by photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley. The exhibition title speaks to the multicultural character of American identities (Irish-American, African-American, etc.) This collection of 148 tintypes is as much a portrait of a diverse community as it is a series of individual portraits. It is comprised mainly of individuals from the broader Syracuse community photographed during Anderson-Staley's residency at Light Work in 2010. The exhibition encourages viewers to suspend the kind of thinking that would traditionally assist in decoding these images in the context of American identity politics.

Keliy describes why she choose the tintype process. She was searching for a way "to slow the viewer down and get them to look." Keliy also talks about why everyone in these types of portraits looks serious and stoic.

In this clip from the opening reception of [Hyphen] Americans, Keliy explains how the tintype photography process works.

The [Hyphen] Americans exhibit is free and open to the public. It will be running through February 9, 2012. For more information on the exhibit, please visit our website.